Deck engine control



Dec. 13, 1938. M G. cooK DECK ENGINE CONTROL Filed Jan. 11,'193'7 attorneys Patented Dec. 13, 1938 UNTED STATES PATENT oFFicE Sheboygan Machine Company, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Sheboygan,

Application January 11, 1937, Serial No. 120,130

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in deck engine controls.

On the deck rof a freighter it is the practice to provide at suitable points along the center line of the deck engines which are usually operated by steam and connected with drums or windlasses upon which mooring chains or hawsers are wound. Since the decks of these freighters are very wide, the operator manipulating the controls of the engines to regulate the speed and direction of operation thereof is out of sight of the mooring operation, and the mate of the ship, who stands at the rail to direct the mooring, is obliged to signal his requirements to the operators of the deck engines.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a deck engine control which, without in any wayinterfering with the use of existing controls, may nevertheless be made to control both the rate of operation and direction of operation of any or all of two or more deck engines from either side of the deck. While a variety of control means may be employed it is preferred, in accordance with the present invention, to provide remote control mechanism which is partially mechanical and partially pneumatic, it being found that these particular mechanisms are easily applicable to existing equipment in accordance with the aforesaid purpose of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a fragmentary plan view of the deck of a vessel to which this invention is applied.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary cross section to the deck portion of the vessel shown in Figure l.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic drawing illustrating the pneumatic connections.

Figure 4 is a detail View in section on an enlarged scale showing the pneumatically operable piston which serves as one of the deck engine controls.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view in transverse section of a valve which serves as a part of the pneumatic control mechanism.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several Views.

I have shown at 'I a fragmentary portion of the hull of a vessel whereof B represents the deck. At each of the rails 9 it is conventional to provide sheaves I in pairs to guide the mooring lines II. Usually all the lines will be run out at the same side of the vessel as shown in Figs. l and 2, but one line may be paid out at one side and the other at the opposite side if desired.

The conventional deck engines generically designated by reference character I comprise drums I6 operated by steam or air admitted to the cylinders I1 under the control of valves I8 and a conventional reversing gear which includes the reversing levers I9. When operated in the usual manner the valves I8 control the speed of operation of the engines and the levers I9 control the direction of operation thereof.

As above indicated, it is one of the objects of this invention to provide remote control mechanism operable with equal facility from either side of the vessel. Between the common source of steam or air which supplies the two engines and the pipes 2| which lead to valves I8 of the respective engines, I incorporateadditional valves 22 which, like valves I8, may be conventional globe valves. To the operating handle of each valve I couple a driving pinion 23. The respective pinions 23 mesh with pinions 24 and the shafts 25 and 26 which extend transversely of the hull of the vessel from one side to the other thereof. Each of the shafts has bevel gearing 21, 28 at its opposite ends connecting it with the upright control shafts 29 and 30 `respectively provided with hand wheels 3l and 32. Thus the officer in charge of mooring the ship can stand adjacent the rail to supervise the mooring operation, and by means of the adjacent hand wheels 3I he is in full control of the appropriate valves 22 which regulate the supply of compressed fluid leading to the respective engines for starting, stopping, and controlling the speed thereof. Obviously the operation of one of the hand wheels 3l on one side of the deck will not only transmit motion through the shaft 25 or 25 to the appropriate valve, but will also actuate the hand wheel at the other side of the deck. Conversely, each hand wheel is operatively coupled and available for use at all times to operate a given valve.

It will, of course, be understood that the valves I6 comprising part of the conventional deck engine control will be left wide open to permit of the functioning of the added valves 22 by the remote control mechanism.

ln order to shift the reversing levers IS back and forth. I prefer to employ a pneumatic remote ccntrol mechanism. On the deck adjacent each lever 1 mount a cylinder 35 having its piston rod 36 directly coupled with the end of the lever as shown in Fig. 2. The cylinder 35 has pipes 3l' a valve 4l in a valve casing 42. The valve need not take the form illustrated in Fig. 5, which is intended only to show the invention diagrammatically, valves of this character being well known. The steam or air or other uid is supplied by a pipe 44 having branches leading to the supply ports 45 of the several valve casings 42, there being such a valve at each side of the deck for each deck engine to be controlled. The valve ports 4E and 41 of each valve casing are connected by lines 48 and 49 respectively, with the pipes 31 and 38 leading to the appropriate cylinder 35 of the engine to be controlled. Port 50 of each valve casing is a relief port which exhausts the pressure from one face of piston 39 simultaneously with the application of pressure to the other face thereof.

The handles or control levers 40 for the respective valves are preferably self-centering so that when they are released by the operator the valve 4l will assume a position such as to cut 01T communication of ports 46 and 41 either with the outlet or inlet. 'Ihis may be done by rotating the valve 4| in Fig. 5 forty-five degrees in either direction to its neutral point. With the valves at opposite sides of the deck both neutral, it will be apparent that the operator manipulating either of the levers will be in full control of the deck engine to which the particular mechanism is applied. If the valve is manipulated to the position shown in Fig. 5 the supply port 45 will be placed in communication with port 46 to transmit pressure through the line 48 to pipe 31 and thence to that face of piston 39 with which the piston rod 36 is connected. rThis will tend to move the piston to the right as viewed in Fig. 4, the pressure on the other face of the piston being exhausted through pipe 38 and line 49 to port 41 of the casing, and thence out through relief port 50.

Manipulation of the valve to a position ninety degrees removed from that shown in Fig. 5 will obviously reverse the direction of operation of the piston. Thus each of the reversing levers i9 of the respective deck engines may be adjusted from either side of the vessel by manipulation of the appropriate valve lever 40.

Under some circumstances the use of this invention may eliminate the services of the deck engine operator. This is not necessarily the case, however, the more important object of the invention being to make the functioning of the deck engines directly visible to the operator. It not infrequently happens that serious accidents resulting in loss of life, limb, or property have been caused on account of the delay inherently involved in the transmission of a signal from the officer at the side of the deck to the operator at the engine. By means of the present invention this loss of time is eliminated, and any accident which may be averted by promptly stopping, reversing, or accelerating the deck engine, may be avoided through the use of the present invention.

I claim:

l. The combination with a vessel having a centrally disposed deck engine including a winch, a hawser operating over the winch, and having one end free and hawser guides at opposite sides of the vessel, of a control means in operative connection with said engine and extending thereto from each of said hawser guides and alternatively available for the control of the engine.

2. The combination with a ship having a plurality of deck engines centrally disposed and corresponding hawser guides at its side, each of said deck engines having reversing and speed control parts and being provided with a winch in operative driven connection with its respective engine through said parts, and hawsers running from the respective Winches to hawser guides at the same side of the ship, of separate control means for the respective parts operatively connected thereto and including control mechanism disposed at the extreme side of the vessel adjacent said hawser guides for the individual control of the reversing and speed of the respective engines.

3. The combination with a vessel having a deck and a deck engine provided with a control part, of a shaft extending from side to side of the deck, manual shaft operating means exposed at opposite sides of the deck directly coupled with the shaft, and means directly coupling an intermediate portion of the shaft with said control part, whereby said part may be controlled from either side of the deck, said vessel deck having hawser guides at its sides and said engine comprising a winch having a mooring hawser engaged over one of said guides and provided with a free end for mooring.

li. The combination with a vessel having a deck and a deck engine provided with a fluid supply line having a valve controlling the operation of said engine with its handle located adjacent said engine, of a second valve in said line in series with the first mentioned valve, and remote control devices extending to the opposite sides of the deck of the vessel for manipulating said second valve from either side.

5. The combination with a deck engine having a windlass operable in either direction, of hawser guides spaced at opposite sides of the engine, a pipe line for supplying fluid pressure to said engine for the operation thereof, a valve controlling said line and disposed adjacent said engine, a second valve controlling flow through said line in series with the i'lrst mentioned valve, a manually operable control member adjacent each of said hawser guides, mechanical connections between the respective control members, and means for transmitting motion from an intermediate point on said connections to said second valve for the opening and closing thereof.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination with a deck and a deck engine centrally disposed thereon and provided with a control lever operable at the engine, of a cylinder disposed near said engine and provided with a piston operatively connected with said lever for the power actuation thereof, pipes communicating with said cylinder at opposite sides of said piston and extending to opposite sides of said deck, a uid pressure supply line having branch portions extending to opposite sides of said deck, and valve means at each side of the deck for controlling the admission of pressure from one of said branch supply lines alternatively to either of said pipes, said valve means being adapted simultaneously to vent the other of said pipes, whereby to employ iuid pressure for the manipulation of said control lever alternatively from either side of the deck.

'7. n a device of the character described, the combination with a vessel having sides, of a winch disposed intermediate said sides, an engine in operative connection with the winch for the actuation thereof, a hawser guide directly adjacent the side of the vessel, a hawser extending operatively from said winch about said guide for use in mooring the vessel, and a set of engine controls disposed adjacent said haWser guide at the side of the vessel in full vieW of the mooring operation, said controls including motion transmitting means extending from said controls to said engine and in operative connection With the engine for regulation of the operation and reverse thereof.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination With a vessel having sides, of a plurality of Winches intermediate said sides, Winch actuating means operatively connected to the respective Winches for the actuation and reverse thereof in conjoint operation for mooring the vessel, hawser guide means at the side of the vessel, hawsers connected With the respective Winches and extending over said guide means and provided With free ends for Vessel mooring operations, and a control set having motion transmitting mechanism in operative connection with the actuating and reversing means of each such Winch, said control set being located at the extreme side of the vessel in full view of said free haWser ends, whereby to enable the conjoint control of said Winches and haWsers in the mooring of the vessel.

MARCH GAIL COOK. 

